Get ready for some mixed feels. Once again, thanks so much for the wonderful reviews and support. You guys are so great. xo See you next week!
Cora inhaled slowly as her back pressed against the chamber door, closing it with a soft click and turning the latch until she heard the lock turn home with a hollow sound. Her eyes closed in time with the door and leaned her head back against the gold paneling with a dull thud, her fingers sliding over the door handle until her hand slipped off entirely to hang at her side.
Loki was dead. And she'd been right about him all along.
Her throat tightened painfully and when she opened her eyes next, the white scleras were red with inflamed blood vessels, saline glossing them over and collecting at the rims. About this, she'd been wrong though. She still had energy to grieve. She would always have energy to grieve and mourn and it came in full force this time as it had with all the others.
It would have hurt whether he was a truly merciless villain through and through as so many others had thought or the misunderstood prince he'd turned out to be, it didn't matter. None of it mattered. Not anymore. Nothing excused what he'd done, but he had redeemed himself when it mattered and that meant so much more than any lingering reputation. People could change. It just took an immense amount of strength for them to do so. Slipping back into old ways was more than possible, but she would never know if his change would stick. Neither would Thor or Odin or the Warriors Three or anyone else who had doubted him. Maybe that was a good thing.
Cora clenched her jaw and shook off the thoughts, blinking hard and exhaling at last in a gust, walking over to sit on the edge of the bed until she figured out how to control herself enough to get to work on something productive. Hell, what would she even do now? She hadn't thought much past meeting her Asgardian relatives or any possible outcomes with Thor and Loki apart from everyone coming back alive and okay. It had just seemed impossible for them to fail, even if Thor had ultimately triumphed at the cost of his brother's life.
As she sank into her seat, she crossed her ankles and habitually tucked them back just enough to breach the bedskirt. Her brow arched faintly as she felt her heel hit something under the bed and she leaned forward, reaching to find whatever she'd tapped with her foot, her fingers hooking in a fabric strap. Pulling against the strap, she tugged what turned out to be her purse forward, having forgotten about it entirely after surrendering it to a couple of Frigga's handmaidens upon her arrival when they'd insisted she take a bath to cleanse her wounds and wash the blood off her.
Setting her purse in her lap, she hesitated before slowly unzipping the main compartment, figuring it could serve as a temporary distraction to root through familiar souvenirs from her home world. She'd rifled briefly through tiny trifles like her car keys (now useless since Clint had put an arrow through where said key would have gone and by this point, her car had probably been towed or confiscated by SHIELD), a couple stray keychains, some old receipts, and keys to her apartment by the time she got to her billfold, grimacing as she unsnapped the clasp and unfolded it.
A soft smirk found her face as she looked down at her driver's license and old school ID along with all her debit, credit, and gift cards lining the pouches inside and thinking how useless they all were here. Cora slid her nail behind the first layer and turned it over, her throat constricting as she looked down at the picture there, faded from the years, of her as a child with her parents.
"Never gets easier," she murmured softly, her fingertips stroking the plastic covering the photograph before she shut and zipped her billfold, replacing it in her purse before taking out her phone.
Out of simple curiosity, Cora depressed the "home" button and felt a sincere sensation of shock when the screen lit up for her to swipe and unlock it. "Can bet there's no wifi here…," Cora commented with some of her usual snark returned and looked over the apps, opening up her photo gallery and starting from the top. High school "selfies" with friends, snapshots of old photos of her parents, a couple shots of her grandmother and her grandmother's golden retriever, Nell, and countless pictures of flowers, trees, and landscapes out in California. She had to admit that she missed it there after all this time away. It felt like ages.
When she neared the end, she nearly went to the home screen again, but she stopped, noticing a small, somewhat blurry final picture she didn't remember being there. It was nestled right beside a short video she'd taken at a music festival she'd gone to in Central Park perhaps a month before all of her problems involving SHIELD had begun. Narrowing her eyes, she touched the square screen-cap and it expanded to fill the screen.
When she pressed "play," her features went blank with disbelief as a jostling video of Loki began. Realizing she had it muted after a few moments, she paused it and put it back to the start, turning up the volume. His hair was shorter here, he even had a bit of color left in his face, but his brow was pinched with determination and utter frustration. Even before she pressed "play" again, she knew this was a mistake, but that didn't stop her.
"Damn, how do I… Ah, right, got it!" his voice played through the speakers, and Cora felt like she'd swallowed a handful of needles as a triumphant grin broke across his face, finding it hard to breathe properly again. She stayed strong as his eyes moved over what had been her phone screen, but she had no idea why he'd had it on in the first place. She couldn't even remember when he might've had access to it.
He continued to mutter, something about messages and addresses, and she could only think that he was trying to figure out how to work the phone and that was how he'd accidentally triggered the app for the camera in the first place. Cora laughed softly as he grew frustrated with the technology, her free hand moving to touch her mouth as she watched, even as her heart hurt in a peculiar way at seeing him like this. Maybe because she never would again.
Finally, something favorable happened for him and he started to calm down, soon smirking and declaring victoriously, "Nice try, Cora, I'll always find you."
Her smile slowly faded as the video ended there when he locked the phone, her numbness resonating once before beginning to lift and leave her defenseless. Cora sucked in a short breath and moved the track forward again to just seconds before that fateful phrase, listening to it one more time.
"Nice try, Cora, I'll always find you."
She locked her phone after the second run-through and felt her features contort just before a sob was torn from her chest, escalating until she bowed her body so her forehead rested against her knees, her hands still holding her phone against her chest as she wept painfully into the fabric of her gown. Her form flickered as she sank into her own agonizing grief, fading out entirely more than once as she lost control of herself. That was how he'd found her in California at her grandmother's supposed funeral, which had turned out to be a scam. He'd handed her phone back to her once he'd arrived and held her hand on their way back.
Cora cried hard enough to cause muscle strain throughout her body, tension making her ache, but not nearly so much as her own emotions. "Well, find me now," she murmured softly, shaking her head as she flashed back to what he'd said out of spite, that she couldn't save anyone. Not because she still felt ire toward him over it, but because it was terribly true. She hadn't been able to save her parents, she hadn't been able to save Frigga, and she hadn't been able to save him either. This knowledge made her utterly miserable.
A knock on her door made her clear her throat carefully enough to weakly answer, "Yes?"
"Lady Cora, the Allfather desires an audience with you," a man, who she could only guess was a guard, said politely through the door and a faint hint of guilt in his voice told her that he realized she wasn't in the best condition at the moment, even if he didn't understand why.
"Lady," she repeated softly with a strained smirk as she slowly sat up and let her phone slip back into her purse. "That's a new one…" Then to him, she said more loudly, "I'll be just a moment. Thanks."
Cora set her purse aside and stood, checking herself in the nearby mirror and wiping the tear streaks from her cheeks as she mulled over what Odin could possibly want from her. Maybe to kick her out. Talk to her about Loki. He had to be hurting a bit over this, he just had to be. Whether or not they admitted it, they were family and the loss of both his wife and one of his sons was likely to be weighing heavily upon him. She left the chamber and walked with the guard outside to the throne room, where he bowed and left her at the door.
Taking a deep breath, Cora walked through the doors the standing guards opened for her, listening to them settle closed behind her. She started walking toward the throne where the Allfather lounged, holding Gungnir as he watched her progress. Something was different though… There were no guards around; it was just them in the throne room.
That wasn't what was bothering her though, it was about Odin. He seemed less formal, but maybe that was because there were no guards around. She might've thought it was grief exhausting him, but as she approached and his features came into focus, she noted that he was oddly calm. "You…wanted to see me?" she said uncertainly, stopping midway down the carpeted aisle.
"Indeed," he said simply, raising his hand as he leaned forward a little. "Come closer. I do not care for shouting needlessly across the room." Cora stepped forward slowly and he hesitated a long time before he continued to answer her question. He seemed to divert from whatever he was originally going to say and noting instead, "I suppose I mean to ask what you plan to do in regard to your ties between Midgard and here. Whether you will—"
"That's what you're concerned about?" Cora interrupted with slight incredulity. "How much longer I'll be taking up a room in your palace?"
An expression of surrender bloomed on his aged face and his demeanor seemed to shift to one of weary defeat. "A room is of little importance, but I believe I must tell you that—"
"That, what?" Cora demanded, suddenly escalating toward anger. "That I have to figure out what I'm going to do, go through some kind of immigration process in order to stay here, be the only one in this damn place to grieve for your son? How can you sit there and just," she struggled for words, "keep going?!"
His grey brow furrowed subtly and he squinted at her features. "Your eyes are red. Something ails you?" he asked softly, studying her and seeming to lapse back into his former manner.
Grimacing at the fact that her eyes were reddened with her earlier tears, Cora felt her proverbial hackles rise and she shot back, "What 'ails me' is what should be ailing you! Your son just died, do you feel nothing for that?!"
"He is not my son," Odin said coolly.
"What kind of monster are you?!" Cora demanded loudly, feeling her tears beginning anew from two parts frustration, one part grief. "How can you just sit there and decide not to mourn him? He died for a man who is your son, you won't deny that!"
"You grieve his loss," Odin observed quietly, seeming baffled by her reactions.
"And you don't," she retorted defensively.
"Why do you?"
Cora looked up at him on his golden throne and, in that moment, she hated him. She truly hated him, but she knew the feeling was temporary. She so rarely held a grudge, it was almost an inability of hers to do so. "Because I care," she said quietly. "Because I'll miss him. That's why anyone grieves. The loss and what they will never get to say."
"And what will you never have the chance to say?" the Allfather asked with almost too much curiosity, but Cora didn't notice as she was more concerned with wiping the stray moisture from her eyes.
She floundered for words, struggling to articulate before she grimaced and shook her head. "What does it matter now? And what the hell do you care?" she asked fiercely, glaring up at him as he got to his feet and slowly made his way down the steps to her level.
"It's a bit…," he began hesitantly, which was the first time she'd ever seen Odin grow hesitant, but as she watched, he began to change. A familiar green aura slowly grew over his form, which lengthened and thinned as she watched, her eyes widening as she reflexively took a step back, confusion making her wary. When the light faded, Loki stood in Odin's place, looking down at her with a mixture of interest and wariness. "Complicated," he finished lamely, pursing his lips into a thin line.
"But…you…," Cora mumbled confusedly as he stopped a few steps in front of her, looking up at him with bewildered eyes still red and watery from crying. "Thor said…"
"Thor left before I could heal. I'm still not entirely whole, but," he paused, looking down at her thoughtfully. "I am alive. Obviously, but… Cora, I don't know how you could forgive me for the things I said to you, but if you—"
"Stop," Cora said harshly, raising a hand. Loki closed his mouth and glanced toward the floor, knowing he had been foolish to think she might be forgiving after finding out he was alive, particularly after he hadn't told her straightaway that the Odin she'd approached on the throne had, in fact, been him.
Cora's hands were shaking and her voice shook faintly as she said again, "Just…stop…," just before she stumbled forward and closed the distance in two long strides, throwing her arms around him. Loki jolted in shock and looked down at her, his arms half-raising of their own accord though he hesitated. "You're such an idiot…," she mumbled against his shoulder, standing on her tiptoes to make up for the height difference.
Loki sighed and a faint smile crossed his face as he wrapped his arms strongly around her, ignoring the dull pain in his chest as he held her close and moved one of his hands to gently cradle the back of her skull. It was amazing how the simple act of being able to touch her after all the time was able to ease his mind. "I know."
Cora laughed quietly through new tears of relief, not entirely inclined to loosen her hold, though she did after a moment. As she eased back to standing flatly on her feet and let him go, she sighed, looking up at him and finding that her smile was lingering, despite it all. "I forgive you. Let's just move on, okay?"
Loki smiled back at her and had shifted his hand from the back of her head to her cheek when they broke their hold, softly stroking the line of her cheekbone without entirely realizing he was doing so. "All right."
The moment was broken when the air changed into an unnerving state of stillness. Loki's smile faded and his eyes shifted from Cora to the entry doors, a hum filling the air just before a snarl twisted his lips and he grabbed her, taking them both down to the golden floor just as a sonic wave lashed through the already weathered throne room, sending the stones crumbling and the gold cracking up the sides, a fissure forming in the floor that split the throne up the middle.
"What's happening?" Cora shouted over the roar of breaking rock and warping metal, reaching up and covering the back of Loki's head as a fragment of rock hurtled toward it, causing it to slice her hand instead.
Loki glanced around with a feral sort of desperation, not knowing whether to keep their position on the floor or get them both to a safer place, though the presence filling the room felt horridly familiar…
I warned you that failure was not an option, Loki Laufeyson.
With the voice came pain of agonizing force that overtook his senses as it had time and time again in Chitauri lands, causing his limbs to shudder as he held himself over Cora, trying to protect her even as he felt like he was being ripped apart. He opened his scrunched eyes to look at her when he heard her gasp loudly, finding her choked with agony as well, her hands tight against her skull as she curled from the inflicted pain.
"Thanos!" Loki roared, enraged that the torture he knew too well was now being used on Cora as well.
"No need to scream, little Giant. I am all. I will bring ends to all," Thanos promised with a deep chuckle. Another sonic wave caused the architecture to groan and shudder and Loki gathered Cora closer to keep them both grounded and try to comfort her as the familiar torment continued on, murmuring softly in her ear that it was all in her head and it would end soon.
Loki glanced up when he heard a rumble from deep underground and then crashing until the palace vault, uprooted from its cavernous home broke through the floor and the air went suddenly still again. The enchantment on the vault was breached and a void opened upon the impossibly thick metal door, a blue glow surfacing slowly until the cubical shape of the Tesseract rose up, at once enclosed by the void.
At that moment, a vision of fire into darkness, of burning cities and melting golden reaches, of screaming and death and the universe folding in upon itself washed over him and Loki's jaw clenched as he glanced around at Asgard's royal fortress, a mass of fragmented gold and stone encircling him as the rest of Asgard lay in ash and dust, the sky breaking apart above him. He knew this sight.
The vision faded when he blinked, breathing hard as the mental infliction of implied pain finally faded from his mind, relieved when he felt Cora relax in his arms as well. The bastard never showed himself, but one last threat flowed through the room and echoed twice over. A threat that sent deep chills through his bones and was even enough to pale the fair skin of the trickster god's face.
"Prepare yourself for the final death, son of ice. The Ragnarök begins."